Bloomberg BNA Releases New Supplements to Restrictive Covenants Treatises

Bloomberg BNA is pleased to announce publication of the 2013 Cumulative Supplements to Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Employment Law: An International Survey, Volume I and Volume II. This two-volume set is a guide for companies and attorneys dealing with trade secrets or covenants in employment agreements, providing country-specific information, as well as useful regional overviews on trade secret laws and international restrictive covenants.

Country-by-country surveys explore the differences between the U.S. and foreign countries in regulating noncompetition and nonsolicitation provisions and in imposing restrictions related to confidential information and trade secrets; they also analyze privacy concerns that arise when employers try to restrict employees’ disclosures, conduct investigations concerning possible violations, or monitor compliance.

Volume I explores the requirements of many European countries, and its 2013 Cumulative Supplement offers updates on:

• France, with a Supreme Court ruling that if an employer fails to pay the financial compensation provided by a contract, the affected employee is entitled to damages
• Germany, regarding new case law about post-employment nonsolicitation clauses and monetary and injunctive relief
• Ireland, with a decision of the Irish High Court regarding an application by an employee for a declaration regarding the enforceability of a disputed restraint, possibly the first such application in Ireland
• Poland, regarding a Supreme Court ruling that actions of third parties aimed at disrupting contractual relations that bind an entrepreneur violated the Unfair Competition Act
• The United Kingdom, with a rare example of the High Court upholding a restriction contained in an unsigned employment contract; and new case law regarding the degree of proof required in nonsolicitation cases, reasonableness of nonsolicitation restrictions for key employees in small businesses, the extent to which emails constitute property belonging to an employer, and the scope of the duty of fidelity regarding a senior managing director

Volume II explores the differences among countries in the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and Africa and its 2013 Cumulative Supplement offers updates on:
• Brazil, regarding changes to the Labor Code about prior notice periods for termination without cause and employee options for performing work during those periods
• Canada, in relation to new case law confirming more liberal standards for evaluating the reasonableness of restrictive covenants between parties of similar bargaining power/sophistication in sale-of-business situations, and upholding a choice of law clause regarding a multi-party, multi-jurisdiction employment agreement
• China, as regards amendments to the Employment Contract Law, the primary national legislation that governs restrictive covenants, in December 2012; and new judicial interpretations of several issues regarding consideration, employee privacy rights, and protection of electronic information
• Hong Kong, with new case law about the reasonableness and breadth of noncompetition and nonsolicitation clauses
• Indonesia, on new implementing regulations regarding phase-in of decent living requirements for workers, outsourcing work, and prohibited positions for expatriate workers under the Law on Manpower, and new regulations issued in response to recent labor strikes
• Singapore, concerning further clarification of case law relating to the proprietary interest in good will being protected by reasonable restrictive covenants and to damages awarded for breach of contract in employment terminations
• Vietnam, about amendments in 2012 to the Labor Code that affect an array of employment-related issues
• Saudi Arabia, regarding new law that cancelled the jurisdiction of the Board of Grievances in implementing foreign decisions and arbitral awards and granting that authority to specific enforcement departments and courts
• South Africa, with a discussion of an additional challenge to the validity of a restraint of trade based on duress in signing an agreement, and the distinction made by courts between duress and “hard bargaining”
• Australia, with a case in which the Full Federal Court upheld a two-year restraint period because it reasonably accommodated the contractual cycle of the employer.

Both volumes are published in cooperation with the International Labor and Employment Law Committee of the ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law. Section publications provide a balanced forum for the views and professional development of practitioners in labor and employment law. For more information on Section participation, please call the Section at 312.988.5813 or visit www.americanbar.org/groups/labor_law.html.

Restrictive Covenants and Trade Secrets in Employment Law: An International Survey, Volumes I and II, are edited by Wendi S. Lazar, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, New York, NY, and Gary R. Siniscalco, a partner in the San Francisco, CA, office of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. This treatise is available for sale directly from Bloomberg BNA and also will be available on the Bloomberg Law legal and business information system.

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